M.Ed. in Middle Grades Course Descriptions
EDN 500. Human Development and Learning (3) Designed to provide foundations for decision-making in teaching and education, this course will focus on patterns of physical and social development and on types of learning. Activities will include analysis, discussion, and application.
EDN 509. Education in a Multicultural Context (3) Examines the factors affecting the achievement of equal educational opportunities for all students, including those of race, ethnicity, class and gender. Emphasizes awareness and understanding of culturally diverse students, and develops skills to enhance their educational environments.
EDN 523. Tests, Measures, and Measurement in Education (3) Prerequisite: EDN 301, EDN 520, or approval of instructor. Designed to develop research competencies required for interpretation and critique of research reports and for design and conduct of research for educational decision-making. Contents will include measurement, problem identification and analysis, research design, selected statistical analysis procedures, data interpretation and reporting and research critique. Activities will include lecture, discussion, research critique, simulated and actual proposal development, simulated report development, and computer analysis of actual data.
EDN 530. Curriculum (3) Develops a conceptual framework for understanding curriculum in relations to other aspects of educational systems. Students learn to evaluate curricula in terms of structural elements, underlying value orientations, and assumptions about subject matter and about learning. Introduction to issues of curriculum change, implementation, evaluation, development, and design.
EDN 536. Teaching Reading in the Content Area (3) Designed for the middle grades teacher of mathematics, science, social studies, and English, this course will identify those skills of reading needed in all content areas as well as those specific to each content area. Emphasis will be placed on the study of strategies useful in teaching reading in the content area classroom. Besides the study of appropriate commercial materials, students will be required to develop their own materials useful for teaching reading in a particular content area.
EDN 538. The Teaching of Writing and Other Forms of Representation (3) Review of theories of composition, writing processes, and principles of grammar, rhetoric, and usage. Attention to methods of instruction and to the range, usefulness, and availability of materials including technology. Includes projects that require generating and evaluating samples from school-age writers in grades K-12.
EDN 540. Adolescent Literature (3) A comprehensive study of literature appropriate for the middle grades, its value in the school curriculum and its importance in fulfilling intellectual, emotional, and cultural needs of young people. Evaluation and bibliography are emphasized; classroom techniques and the use of related materials are covered. Projects related to instructional preparation and student activities are required.
EDN 541. Role of Literature in Learning and the Curriculum (3) An exploration of the great wealth of trade books available for today’s students from kindergarten through high school. Examines the importance of literature in learning and in life. Studies issues and trends such as cultural diversity, censorship, and response theories which will help guide students toward comprehensive, creative, and insightful utilization of literacy materials.
EDN 542. The Teaching of Mathematics (3) Focus on materials and methods for teaching mathematics in grades K-9, with emphases on the logical, psychological, and sociological foundations of mathematics education. A survey of curricula appropriate at the K-9 level. Library research in current topics related to the teaching of mathematics.
EDN 543. The Teaching of Social Studies (3) Special emphasis is given to the various techniques and methods to be used in the teaching of social studies. Teaching strategies including simulation, inquiry and value clarification will be explored through research, observation, demonstration and, when applicable, field trips. Each student will prepare a major unit of study which will require both individual and group participation.
EDN 544. The Teaching of Science (3) To assure that science is taught from a theoretical and conceptual base, content will include studying theories and concepts related to science taught at various grade levels. Activities will include development of successful methods of teaching through the use of individual and group projects. Opportunities will be provided to field test methods proposed. Materials needed for a successful science program and sources from which these materials may be secured will be discussed.
EDN 546. Assessment in School Mathematics (3) A survey and application of contemporary methods of assessing school mathematics (K-8). Techniques of assessment and interpreting assessment results will be considered. A case study will be required.
EDN 548. Inquiry-The Method of Science (3) The course assumes initial-level competency in the curriculum and methods of science. The course will focus on the conceptualization of and rationale for using the inquiry method of teaching science. Students will participate in activities taken from a variety of science curriculum programs for elementary through senior high school. The course also will provide students with an opportunity to acquire and practice the skills needed to utilize the inquiry method and to guide scientific investigations at K-12 levels. Methodology and types of activities appropriate to the student’s level of teaching will be selected.
EDN 549. Middle School Education (3) Study of educational programs for upper elementary education (junior high, middle school, intermediate school). Review of learning, physical, and social characteristics of “transescents” and historical and current approaches to their education. Comparison and contrast of curriculum, instruction, administrative and organizational features of exemplary and typical intermediate, middle and junior high schools.
EDN 556-557. Clinical Teaching in Reading Recovery (3-3) Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Develops skills of observing, recording, and analyzing children’s readings and writing behaviors and in implementing effective methods for teaching literacy to young children at risk of reading failure. Generates understanding of theories of reading and writing processes and of reading acquisition from an emergent literacy perspective.
EDN 567. Learning-Centered Supervision (3) Develops and understanding of adult developmental theories and supervision models in relation to application for development of teachers at beginning of their careers. Topics include clinical supervision, research on novice teachers, conditions and strategies that support growth, and specific differentiated supervisory strategies. Students will develop materials and collect resources to support a model of curricular/instructional reform.
EDN 577. Practicum in Middle Grades Education (3) Prerequisite: Six hours of graduate study in the academic content. Designed to provide a supervised internship in a middle grades setting. Focus on integration of graduate level academic content in area of certification with instructional strategies. Should be taken concurrently with an appropriate methods course.
EDN 593. Contemporary Perspectives in Education (1) Independent investigation of a contemporary controversial educational issue. Students will research a topic, take a professional stance, and defend their position in a formal presentation to faculty and students. Must be taken during the semester in which the comprehensive exam is scheduled.